Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary primaries

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Since 2009, the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom has experimented with the use of open primaries to select some parliamentary candidates. [1]

Contents

The first primaries were held ahead of the 2010 general election. More than a dozen primaries were held ahead of the 2015 general election.

Selection committee

The members of the selection committee are as follows:

Ben Elliot Chairman of the Board and co-chairman of the Conservative Party
Rt Hon James Cleverly MP Co-chairman of the Conservative Party and deputy chairman of the Board
Andrew Sharpe OBE Chairman of the National Conservative Convention and deputy chairman of the Board
Udi Sheleg Treasurer of the Conservative Party
Pamela HallPresident of the National Conservative Convention
James PearsonVice President of the National Conservative Convention
Andrew Colborne-BaberVice President of the National Conservative Convention
Peter BoothVice President of the National Conservative Convention
Alan Mabbutt OBESenior member of the professional staff of the Party
Cllr Mark Hawthorne MBEChairman of the Conservative Councillors’ Association
Robert Forman MBE WS Chairman, Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party
Byron Davies Chairman, Welsh Conservatives
Anthea McIntyre MEP Appointed by the Leader pursuant to Rule 12.10
The Baroness Sater Appointed by the Board pursuant to Rule 12.12
Rt Hon Lord Hunt of Wirral MBE Chairman, Association of Conservative Peers
Sir Graham Brady MP Chairman, 1922 Committee
Charles Walker OBE MP Elected by the 1922 Committee
Rt Hon Dame Cheryl Gillan DBE MP Elected by the 1922 Committee
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP Elected by the 1922 Committee
Stephen Phillips OBESecretary to the Board

2010 general election

Primaries were held in a few seats, including Oxford West and Abingdon, Totnes, Gosport and Bracknell.

Totnes

Totnes The River Dart at Totnes.jpg
Totnes

Totnes was the first constituency to use an open primary to select the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate. The election was held in August 2009 and saw a turnout of approximately 25%. Due to the success of this primary election, David Cameron announced that the system would be applied to other constituencies in future. [2] Dr Sarah Wollaston, a general practitioner, was selected with 48% of the vote. [3] Wollaston went on to be elected MP for Totnes at the 2010 general election.

Bracknell

The Bracknell primary was held in October 2009, and was won by Phillip Lee. Other candidates included Rory Stewart (elected as MP for Penrith and the Border in 2010) and broadcaster Iain Dale. [4]

Gosport

Gosport Falkland Gardens, Gosport - geograph.org.uk - 877112.jpg
Gosport

Gosport held an open primary to select a candidate to succeed Peter Viggers upon his retirement from Westminster. [5] [6] The election was held in December 2009. Caroline Dinenage, a local business owner and daughter of Fred Dinenage, was selected with 38% of the vote. Dinenage was elected MP for Gosport at the 2010 general election, with an increased majority.

Clacton by-election, 2014

The 2014 Clacton by-election, caused by the defection from the Conservatives of Douglas Carswell, a prominent advocate of open primaries, selected actor Giles Watling over Colchester councillor Sue Lissimore on 11 September. [7] [8]

Rochester and Strood by-election, 2014

The candidate for the 2014 Rochester and Strood by-election, caused by the defection from the Conservative Party of Mark Reckless to the UK Independence Party (UKIP), was chosen by a postal open primary. [9] Kelly Tolhurst, a local councillor, narrowly won over fellow councillor Anna Firth. Tolhurst lost the by-election to Reckless, but later won the seat at the following year's general election. Firth would go on to become an MP succeeding Sir David Amess following his murder.

2015 general election

ConstituencyMain articleDate of final selectionCandidate chosenConservative seat before electionCandidate elected
Berwick-upon-Tweed [10] Feb 2013 Anne-Marie Trevelyan NoYes
Boston and Skegness [11] 25 Oct 2014 Matt Warman YesYes
Croydon South [12] 12 Nov 2013 Chris Philp YesYes
Hampstead and Kilburn 2013 Hampstead and Kilburn Conservative primary 30 January 2013Simon MarcusNoNo
Louth and Horncastle [13] 28 July 2014 Victoria Atkins YesYes
Mid Worcestershire [14] 22 November 2013 Nigel Huddleston YesYes
North East Hampshire [15] 17 November 2013 Ranil Jayawardena YesYes
South East Cambridgeshire [16] 7 December 2013 Lucy Frazer [17] YesYes
Tonbridge and Malling [18] 2 November 2013 Tom Tugendhat YesYes
Twickenham [19] 5 September 2013 Tania Mathias NoYes
Wealden [20] 5 December 2013 Nus Ghani YesYes
West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine [21] 10 March 2014 Alexander Burnett NoNo
Yeovil [22] July 2013 Marcus Fysh NoYes

2019 general election

ConstituencyMain articleDate of final selectionCandidate chosenConservative seat before electionCandidate elected
Gower 10 October 2019Francesca O'Brien [23] NoNo

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References

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  4. dazmando (18 October 2009). "Bracknell Open Primary Review". Bracknell Blog. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  5. "Gosport voters to get open primary on replacing Peter Viggers". The Daily Telegraph . 29 October 2009.
  6. "Dinenage to succeed duck house MP as Tory candidate". BBC News . 4 December 2009.
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  9. By-election update: All voters to get chance to have a say in choosing Tory successor to Mark Reckless in Rochester and Strood KentOnLine
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  23. "Francesca O'Brien". Gower & Swansea Conservatives. Retrieved 24 July 2020.